Long-struggling Tampa charter school shuts its doors

Tampa Bay Times | By Jeffrey S. Solochek | February 19, 2025

Village of Excellence Academy had troubles with enrollment and finances.

The executive director of Village of Excellence Academy in North Tampa posted a plaintive plea on Go Fund Me one week after students returned from winter break in January.

“Village of Excellence Academy is facing an urgent financial crisis that threatens to close our doors by the first quarter of 2025,” Romaine Edwards wrote about the charter school that opened in 2000. “We are under-enrolled and struggling to meet operational costs. To avoid closure, we need to raise $300,000 to sustain our programs and continue serving our incredible students.”

Less than two weeks later, the school sent a message home to parents.

Effective the next day, Jan. 24 — a Friday — Village of Excellence would cease to exist. Families would have to enroll their children elsewhere, the letter stated, offering a handful of possibilities and pledging to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Edwards could not be reached for comment. The school’s phone was disconnected.

News of the school’s demise came as a disappointment, but not a surprise, to Hillsborough County school district officials. They had been monitoring the charter’s downward slide for several years.

“It’s always sad if any school or education organization closes,” school board member Lynn Gray said. “But there’s been a history of lack of accountability and oversight … manifest in the (fact that the) children have not been successful.”

Village of Excellence Academy received F grades from the state in 2022 and 2023, and a D in 2024. Its enrollment over that period declined from 230 students to 78 when the charter’s directors decided to permanently shut down.

The school’s fund balance also shrank, according to Hillsborough district records, from just over $265,000 in 2021 to zero.

That’s after its leaders assured the board that they were working to hire more certified teachers, boost reading scores and improve attendance rates at the campus, which served primarily low-income and minority children.

Those trends have board member Nadia Combs asking questions as the school board prepares to formally terminate its contract with the charter school on Tuesday.

“I’m curious about when they got” this year’s state allocation, Combs said. “Did they get their funding and then close? … I would love to see where all that money went.”

According to district records, Village of Excellence received about $636,000 from the state for its current operational budget, and about $35,000 for capital outlay. It closed right before the state’s second student count and funding period, so the next round of money for the students will go to their new schools, district spokesperson Tanya Arja said.

Forty have enrolled at other charter schools, while 27 transferred to district schools and 11 moved to private schools, Arja said.

Combs said she also worried about the impact the closure would have on students.

“It’s really hard not to complete the year,” Combs said, noting the smallness of the school likely created a family-like atmosphere that children would miss. “I just think it’s fundamentally wrong for those children and those families.”

The school’s fate highlights a larger reality confronting education, board chairperson Jessica Vaughn said.

She referred to the lack of resources that many of the children and their families face, and the relative reduction in support and services that schools can provide in an era when more attention is going toward other education options.

“Some of the charter schools that want to help our more marginalized communities are struggling with some of the same issues as the district,” Vaughn said.

In his letter to parents, Edwards and principal Glennis Perez thanked parents for giving them the opportunity to be part of their children’s education.

“These 25 years have been an incredible journey,” they wrote. “It has been our privilege to educate and inspire each student who has come through our doors. Despite challenges, we’ve celebrated remarkable achievements, from academic growth to social and emotional development, and we will always treasure the memories made with your children and families.”